Run, Hide, Pray
by KevinLazar
Summary: Through the years of bullying, Hiccup is finally pushed too far. This story is a rewrite of my other story, "Run." The rating might change later on, but for now is T.
1. The Last Straw

A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

I would like to thank everyone who read my previous fanfiction, "Run," and those who reviewed it, who convinced me to rewrite it. I will be using their feedback to make this story.

Flashbacks are in bold, dragon thoughts are in italics.

* * *

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, had been relentlessly bullied by everyone on Berk, especially Snotlout Jorgenson, a buff boy with an ego twice the size of Stoick's gut, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, twins who both had a knack for destruction, and Astrid Hofferson, a fearsome warrior with a short temper. When he met Toothless, a Night Fury, three months ago, he had began to train, keeping his skills hidden. Hiccup had thought his life had turned around, but on the second day of Dragon Training, he saw how wrong he was. It had been almost four months since he had shot down Toothless, a Night Fury who became his closest friend. The first week had been spent gaining the trust of the feared dragon.

** It had been three days since he crashed down in that forest, and he was still unsure exactly what had happened. **

_**I am a Night Fury, lord of the skies, impossible to hit, but as I flew away from that catapult, I felt something wrap around my body, the force knocking the breath from my lungs. I saw the forest approaching rapidly. I tried to flap my wings, but it only succeeded in tightening the bindings around me. I slammed into a tree, feeling it slam into my side, before something caught my tail. Before I could even think about what I was feeling, a fearsome pain erupted in my tail, where the left fin was. I slammed into the ground, and I could feel my bones creaking, threatening to snap.**_

**He had spent those three days in the grip of the searing pain and the clawing hunger before he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.**

_** I was barely able to think through the pain I was in for the past three days, at times, asking for a quick death, but then I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. A small head came up, then dropped back down behind a mound of earth, and I began to grow curious. The head turned out to be that of a small boy, looking unlike any of the other humans. But like the other people, he too pointed a sharp, metal thing at me, obviously afraid of me.**_

_**He eventually placed his foot upon my side, and I turned slightly, startling the boy once more. He began to speak of cutting my heart out, and when he raised his knife, I gave up. I knew that I would not survive this, so I gave up, waiting for the end of my misery, but it never came. I felt the bindings around my body beginning to loosen, and I leapt up, pinning the human beneath me.**_

_**It was in that moment that I realized that he was the reason why I was in pain. I prepared to turn him to ash, but when he too seemed ready for his death, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I gave a deafening roar in his face, then I tried to fly away, but I fell into a small depression in the ground, too deep for me to escape.**_

Astrid had just turned around to Hiccup, and yelled, "Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents' war is about to become ours! Figure out which side you're on."

Nobody realized how much of a mistake they had just made, for they had never seen Hiccup get angry.

Everyone expected the boy to turn and run, as he always had, but he was as still as a statue, his back to the group. When he turned, everyone stumbled back a step when they saw his face. All the kindness and humor had faded, leaving an emotionless mask. His eyes, once so bright and caring had turned to ice.

Snotlout was shaking ever so slightly as he began to approach his weak cousin, hoping that Hiccup would back down, return to his place as a helpless wimp, but that didn't happen. Once he was in range, he threw a punch at his cousin's chin, only to have his hand caught in a grip like iron.

Before anyone knew what was happening, they saw Snotlout fall to the ground with a scream of pain as Hiccup moved forward, towards the exit, but the others were in his way. With a voice that sent shivers down the spines of all those present, he said, "Step aside, I do not wish to hurt anyone else right now." But the group did not move.

Angrily, Astrid spat, "You have no right speak to us like that Useless, you could never beat me. This is your last chance, back down!" Hiccup replied with a simple "No."

She charged with her axe, swinging it at the boy, but hit only empty air. As he moved back, he slid his leg out and sent her sprawling to the ground. Her face was red with fury when she regained her feet, and she threw her axe at him, only for him to catch it by the handle.

Hiccup stated, "I tried to warn you, but you never listen," as he raised the axe over his head and slammed it on the arena floor, shattering the blade as though it was glass.

With a voice colder than the worst of winters, he calmly stated, "I think that I have proven that I have the right to speak against you. You have made my life Hel for the last 15 years, and now you must live with the consequences of what you have done to me. I will be back some day, pray that I will show mercy." Before he walked out the door and towards the forest, leaving only a stunned silence in the arena.

After a minute, Gobber moved to pick up Snotlout, ignoring his cries of pain, and carried him to Gothi. Astrid then asked Fishlegs, "You were closer to Hiccup than the rest of us, did you know that he could do that?"

Fishlegs, still stunned, squeaked, "I did not know that anyone could do that, much less Hiccup."

* * *

A/N: I know that I said that I would finish the first five chapters before posting anything, but I figured I would put it out as a bit of a teaser, and a way to let people get notifications on this specific story.


	2. The Promise

A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

To all those who are curious, I am no longer going to be establishing a buffer of unreleased chapters, as it is just not how I work. I like to get feedback as I go, in order to improve future chapters. This will mean that it will be less consistent with updates, but that is its own thing.

Flashbacks are in bold, dragon thoughts are in italics.

* * *

As Hiccup made his way through the forest and to the cove, he kept thinking about what he had done that day, how everyone had looked at him, how Astrid had tried to kill him, but most of all, how he would never truly be accepted by his own tribe. And when he saw Toothless in the cove, waiting for him, Hiccup made up his mind—he was leaving as soon as he could.

#

For Toothless, the day had been uneventful, having spent most of it basking in the sun's gentle rays, until he sensed something different in the way his rider was moving, something unnerving to even the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, but he could not place the reason for the difference.

He heard his rider say to him, "It's time for us to leave Berk behind and move on with our lives. You are the only one who has been a true friend to me. There is nothing left here for either of us. I just have to gather some gear, and we should be ready to go." _I wonder what happened to him to give the edge of ice to his voice, he was always so warm and happy, but something has changed. I am glad he finally saw some sense and decided that we should go find somewhere else to make our home._ And he moved forward, nuzzling and cooing to the distraught boy in an attempt to provide comfort.

#

That night, a shadow glided through the forest and into the village of Berk. It carefully gathered basic supplies: leather, food, schematics, clothes, blankets, maps, and tools from the forge, before leaving a final letter to the people of Berk.

It read, "People of Berk,

I have decided to leave Berk and disown my family name. This choice came from the years of relentless bullying by those around me, particularly my former cousin, Snotlout. When Astrid snapped at me in the arena, I finally realized that I would never be accepted as a member of this tribe. I promise you that I will return one day, and you will understand the Hel that you put me through. Pray that I show you the mercy you never gave to me.

—Hiccup the Useless"

Hiccup was ghosting through the forest, returning to the cove where he would leave Berk behind, when he heard the sound of a woman sobbing. His every instinct told him to stay away from the sound, but there was something about it that was intriguing. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him, and he changed his path so that he would approach the source of the sound.

When he found the source, Hiccup was shocked, to say the least. It was Astrid sitting there sobbing. He felt the urge to go an comfort the sobbing shieldmaiden, but his mind told him that was the wrong move, and he headed to the cove, where Toothless would be growing restless.

#

The following morning, Gobber found Astrid waiting for him outside the forge holding the shards of her axe. She asked, "Gobber, I know this axe is in bad shape, but it was so well made. Could you please repair it?"

Gobber replied, "Saying your axe is in bad shape is a bit of an understatement, and even if I wanted to, I could neither repair your axe nor make you one of similar quality."

Puzzled, Astrid asked, "Weren't you the one who made my axe in the first place?"

Sadly, Gobber replied, "I could never make such a weapon, Hiccup was the one who made most of Berk's weapons, but he did not sound like he was coming back any time soon." Then he entered his shop, ready to go on with the day, leaving Astrid wondering if she could ever do anything to make up for what she had done.

Angry with the world, Astrid decided to go work off the negativity by going after Snotlout and the twins, who already deserved it.

#

Around noon, the thunderous voice of Stoick the Vast rang out across the village of Berk, summoning all to the square. When everyone arrived, he held up the note that he had found, and he began to read, feeling the village should know. When he finished reading, he noticed that the teens had all gone pale and wondered what had happened to make them react like that.

It was then that he noticed Snotlout's arm, inquiring, "What happened to your wrist, did Astrid get tired of your attempts at flirting again?"

Much to Stoick's astonishment, Snotlout replied, "Astrid had nothing to do with this, Hiccup was the one who snapped my wrist," before shrinking away in embarrassment and leaving Stoick to his thoughts.

How had he missed the fact that his son could fight, and in that moment, he realized why the teens had gone pale when he had read the note: they were terrified of what Hiccup had promised them, for they all knew that Hiccup kept his promises.

* * *

A/N: Such a nice cliffhanger... For those who have told me before that they did not like how I did not explain how Hiccup got so good with fighting, I will be covering that in chapters 3 and 4, where we will also see Hiccup gearing up... Just a note, there will be divergence from the story "Run," so if this is seeming too familiar, it is due to how this story is being written. All the same content will be covered, but there will be more details in this version, as well as better continuity.

I would appreciate any and all feedback for this story, it helps me to become a better writer.


	3. A New Home

A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon

Another chapter already, I am a bit surprised myself, but I now have an outline for the plot, planning for fifteen or sixteen chapters, and may have found a beta reader or two. I cannot promise that updates will be this consistent for the future, but while I can, I will be updating this story.

Flashbacks are in bold, dragon thoughts are in italics.

* * *

As Hiccup and Toothless were soaring through the skies, they began to plan where they would set up their base of operations. Their first thought was to explore Helheim's Gate, where no vikings would be able to reach them through the dense fog.

As they flew, Hiccup noticed something unusual happening to Toothless and he could hear a low chirping noise in the distance as they raced farther in, helpless to resist the pull of the sound.

As Toothless raced through the mist around Helheim's Gate, Hiccup could see more and more dragons joining around them, all carrying food. Soon, he could see the outline of an island. Toothless kept flying, soon passing through a hole in the side of the mountain and into a massive cavern. The first thing Hiccup noticed was the burning heat and the suffocating smell of sulfur in the air. He then saw that all the dragons were dropping their catches into a huge pit, eating none of it, and he began wondering why they would do such a thing. He soon found out when gronkle dropped a single, tiny fish, and a head larger than any dragon he had ever seen came up out of the mist, swallowing the gronkle in a single bite.

The Red Death noticed Hiccup on the back of Toothless, and was about to charge at them, but Toothless was faster, racing through the exit tunnels like Hel herself was chasing them.

Trembling with fear, Hiccup knew that they could not take on the beast within the mountain yet. Now, not only did their home need to be safe from the vikings, but it also had to be out of the reach of the cannibalistic tyrant's irresistible call.

To the west of Berk, they found just the place they were looking for, a high mountain, riddled with caves. They found an entrance overlooking a steep cliff a hundred feet high, and they landed inside it.

Hiccup asked Toothless, "Do you think this place will make a good home?" to which Toothless nodded, before curling up, ready to sleep.

Before night fell, Hiccup built a basic forge in a large cavern that he had found, about fifty feet back from the entrance to be able to repair Toothless' tail fin, as well as make farming tools, weapons, and armor.

After having set up the essentials for their new home, Hiccup moved over and curled up close to Toothless, savoring the warmth and safety of being near the dragon.

As he watched his rider fall asleep, Toothless remembered when it had started.

**It had been a long day so far, having been unable to get any food to satisfy his hunger, when he heard the sound of a couple pebbles bouncing. Instantly, he went on high alert, noticing the tiny human who had freed him from the ropes the day before.**

_**What is wrong with this boy? Does he know that I am here? **_**And then he noticed the fish in the boy's hand, pouncing from his position.  
**

_**The tiny boy brought a fish with him, such a good looking one too, but as I went to see it, I caught the slightest glint of steel under his vest and warned him that I did not like what was there. He pulled it out, and I decided to make my message clear, "Put down the dagger or else." And he listened. He even totally disarmed himself by tossing it when I**_** motioned.**

_**The boy held out the fish to me, muttering, "****Huh. Toothless. I could've sworn you had..." and I just couldn't resist. I popped out my teeth and grabbed the fish.  
**_

_**I moved towards him, and I began to think that maybe this boy was not getting enough food, so I coughed up part of the fish in his lap and began getting him to eat it. **_

* * *

A/N: A little bit slow to come out, but I finished it... I have not managed to work out beta readers yet, so it is still just me reading it... Any thoughts on the Toothless POV?


	4. The Freedom to Soar

A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon

Okay, just a few things to get out of the way, I will not be able to do consistent updates, it just seems like my life and my schedule do not agree... I have found a couple of new places where I can get feedback before I post these chapters, so that means that I might be slower updating, but the quality of the chapters should increase. I also discovered that my writing does not like my chapter outline, and that I cannot read all the notes I made... As such, this chapter will include what I originally had planned for both chapters 4 and 5, meaning it will probably be a bit longer.

I would like to thank Whiskerface for his inspiration for Gobber's words in this chapter. When I read his story, "Careful," I just had to include it. If you want to read it, it is in my favorites list.

Flashbacks are in bold, dragon thoughts are in italics.

* * *

As Hiccup finished setting his workspace, he thought to himself, "I could really use some weapons and armor," but he was not quite sure what to make it out of. At first, he thought of using steel, but discarded that idea when he realized it would be too cumbersome in a fight. He then thought of using leather, but it would not be sturdy enough to offer him protection from blades.

Suddenly, Hiccup was struck by a flash of inspiration, "I can use some of Toothless's scales on a leather base to allow flexibility, but add small plates of metal to give strength."

Idea in mind, Hiccup moved to his desk and began to draft, basing the shape off that of a night fury. It wasn't long before he had the leather base laid out before him, ready to sew on the scales and integrate the metal plates.

Once Hiccup had finished designing and constructing a space where he could work, he set out on the task of designing himself a weapon.

Hiccup thought, "A hammer or axe is too heavy for me to wield and I can't fly Toothless while carrying a spear, and a knife wouldn't give me the reach I need against bigger opponents. I think that a sword might be the best option for me, now to figure out what type of sword."

He spent the next several hours drafting sketches of swords that he could use, but he kept running into trouble dealing with the limitations of various materials. Normal iron wasn't strong enough to make a light sword, but he couldn't effectively wield a heavy sword. He needed something stronger to make his sword from.

**The last raid was very costly, destroying almost all of the catapult towers positioned around Berk. Hiccup had decided, against his father's wishes, that he wanted to see more of the destroyed catapult. As he approached it, he spotted something black on the ground, black like the night sky. It was a piece of metal, about half the size of his palm, and he picked it up, curious about what had made it black. He was surprised at how light it was, but when he tried to break it, it had withstood the attempts.**

He began to think about what he could do with a metal like that, and then he picked up one of the sketches that he had set aside; a sketch of a thin, double bladed sword, something to give him reach and flexibility.

#

It took him two days to make the sword, to ready it for the final step, knowing that he couldn't do much once it was finished.

He called to Toothless, asking him if he could give the sword a small plasma blast.

Toothless spent the next couple minutes trying to nudge Hiccup behind him to keep him safe, but the boy was just too curious. Soon, Toothless decided to just cover him with his wing and give the sword a blast.

Hiccup came forward and took a look at the sword, now a deep black, then picked it up. It was the same color as the chunk from the wreckage, and when he swung it at the wall with all his might, it stayed intact.

He spent the rest of that day making a scabbard for his new sword, before it too was turned into what he had begun to call night steel.

That night, he slept peacefully under Toothless's wing knowing that he could now defend himself.

#

The next morning, Hiccup was woken by an irritated Night Fury who wanted to fly. Although he was tired, he agreed, knowing that it would help him with the coming battle against the Red Death. He put on his armor, strapping his sword to his hip, ready to fly.

When they finally came back, Hiccup was sore from the hours of flying, but he could not rest yet. During the long flight, he had noticed quite a few things that he could improve on the saddle and his armor. The first thing he did was to begin working on a new tail, this time sewing Night Fury scales onto it, and using night steel for the components. He shaped the various pieces, the rods in the fins, the pedal mechanisms, and all the other metal components in the flight rig. He also forged small pieces of chain mail that he could use to reinforce his armor, replacing the regular metal in it.

He called Toothless over, asking for some more plasma blasts, and creating a great deal of night steel to use in the rig and armor. Once Toothless was done, he went back to sleep, tired from the flight. Hiccup began to work the leather into the shape of the fin before sewing the scales on. It had taken him several hours of hard work to build the rigging, but it was finally done. As much as he wanted to test it right away, he knew that waking up Toothless again would not be a good idea, considering how tired he seemed. He decided to begin working on his armor some more.

When he finished, Hiccup fell asleep at his workbench, thinking of even more ideas on what he could do.

#

The day after, Astrid approached Gobber again, still shocked by what he had told her about her axe and asked, "Did Hiccup really make my axe?"

Gobber replied, "'Hiccup didn't just make your axe, he made most of the village's weapons, even his father's hammer. If ye don't believe me, ye will find 'HHHIII' engraved on the handle of any weapon that he made."

After she left, she began to ask people if she could see the handles of their weapons, and sure enough, Hiccup's initials were engraved on many of them.

Soon, everyone knew that Hiccup had made their weapons, and people began trying to break them, not wanting Hiccup's tainted work, but they were just too strong. The weapons that he had made were just too strong for them to break, so they tossed them into the sea.

#

On the edge of a cliff, overlooking the harbor, Gobber saw the vast figure of a man, arm drawn back, hammer in hand. He yelled out, "Stoick, don't throw that hammer!"

Stoick turned to face him, "Why shouldn't I throw this, it is cursed."

Gobber replied, "If ye toss that hammer, you will have proven to 'iccup that you don't care about anything he has done. You are still his father. Remember what your dad told you about your sister. If your father could see you now, he would be ashamed of what you did to your son."

Stoick lowered his arm and gave Gobber a glare that would have most men shaking in fear, yelling, "Who are you to tell me what to do and not to do! I am still the chief of this tribe!"

Gobber calmly replied, "I wasn't telling you what to do, I was making sure that you knew about the consequences of your actions."

* * *

A/N: This is my first chapter back, and I am doing my best. I apologize for the long wait, and I hope that it was worth it. I will try to get into a more regular schedule, but I cannot make any promises.

As always, please feel free to let me know what you think about this story.


	5. The Shadow Warriors

A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

I know that I said I would try to get back to this soon, but it seems that I am not able to keep that sort of thing. It is finally coming out, and as much as I hate to say it, I still plan on trying my best to get the next one out in what I hope to be a more timely manner.

While I was writing this, I was thinking, and now that I have pondered a bit, I am pretty sure Hiccup has ASD and ADHD. It would make sense.

* * *

The people of Berk had suffered during the year after Hiccup had left. The raids had been costlier than ever before and intact weapons were worth more than anything else. Even the bravest and most stubborn Berkians had given up on facing the dragons, instead choosing to hide and protect their food.

The fishermen and women were out every day, trying to gather any food that could help feed the village.

More and more pirates had been seen around Berk, and with them came tales of a demon that lurked in the shadows.

#

Over the past year, Hiccup had grown from a runty boy to a formidable warrior, feared by many.

He thought back fondly to his first days training with Toothless, three weeks after they had first bonded.

**Toothless looked at him curiously, seeing him struggling to lift the basket of fish he had brought.**

**_The boy was so thin and weak, it was a wonder that he had managed to survive so long among the bigger humans surrounding him._**

**_I decided that he needed to get stronger, and I was going to help him._**

**_I began to chase him around the cove. At first, I easily caught him, but over the following weeks, it became harder and harder. He grew stronger as I forced him to work, making it a bit harder to do what he was trying to do and think about ways to outwit me._**

**Hiccup was surprised at just how strong he had been becoming over the weeks. Things he used to struggle with became effortless. In a month, he was able to run with a basket full of fish that he was barely able to walk with before.**

**_Once I saw that he was strong enough, I knew it was time to take the next step in preparing him for the world. He needed to be able to fight._**

**_Before I could begin teaching him, I needed to hone his reflexes. When he messed up something, I moved to bat him with my tail, not a heavy blow, but just enough to make it unpleasant._**

**_Each time he noticed my tail moving towards him, he would dodge or duck. At first it was funny watching him fall over as he tried to dodge, but soon, it became hard to even get close to hitting him._**

**_It was time to move on. I just needed to figure out how to get him to understand what I wanted._**

**After about a month, I noticed Toothless behaving oddly. He seemed determined to show me something, but I couldn't seem to understand what he wanted from me, and then it clicked.**

**_I had tried for days to show him that I wanted him to get a weapon, but nothing I tried had worked. Then I realized that I had the perfect way to show him._**

**_I motioned for him to sit and watch, and put my plan into action. I nuzzled the spot where he had his knife that day he had tossed it into the water, then pointed the best I could to my teeth and claws. He looked puzzled, so I pointed at a rock and pounced on it like I was attacking, then repeated my gestures, and this time he seemed to get it._**

**The day after that, I brought two swords with me. One steel one, and one wooden practice one. When I walked into the cove and set them down, Toothless gave me a big smile and gestured for me to pick up the wooden sword.**

**I had seen everyone around me using their right hand to hold a sword, but as I reached for it, he growled, only to calm when I pulled my hand away. Why would he have me bring a sword, only to growl when I tried to pick it up?**

**_When I saw the boy set down the two objects, I was glad that he finally understood what I wanted from him. As I had been watching him write and draw, I had noticed that he used his left hand. When he reached for the sword with his right hand, I wanted to groan—did I really have to do everything for him?_**

**_When he looked puzzled, I moved towards him and picked up the sword in my mouth. Once more, he tried to reach with it using his right hand, but pulled it back when I gave a short growl. Hesitantly, he tried reaching for the sword with his left hand, and I gave him a warble of encouragement._**

**I spent the next month practicing sword fighting with Toothless. As before, his methods were unusual, but there was no doubt that they worked well. It was amazing how much Toothless could use his tail for; from fencing to opening things.**

He strapped on his midnight armor and checked Toothless's saddle and tail, satisfied that they were ready to go on their patrol.

#

Shortly after dawn, a fishing boat docked in the harbor and one of the men stepped off and ran to find Stoick and share his tale.

#

Stoick looked at the pirate before him. Normally, Stoick would have just tossed the man in jail for a trial, but he said he had information about the shadow demon.

Impatiently, Stoick demanded the information.

The man began, "My crew and I are from an area to the west of here. We came here to escape the stories of a demon in the shadows.

Last night, we saw your ship and were preparing to take it, but before we could, a black shadow dropped onto the bow and a thin shape leapt onto the deck and pulled out a midnight sword.

One of my men tried to charge the shape, only for the creature's strange sword to slice right through his weapon and cut him down.

After seeing the death of one of their comrades, the rest of my men surged forward, ten of them against the dark shadow. Within minutes, they were all dead, the shadow standing there, unharmed.

It spoke to me in a strong voice, telling me to spread the word that these waters were protected, then climbing onto the large creature on the bow and vanishing into the night.

After that, the men on your ship boarded and took me prisoner. They said that you would want to hear what I had to say."

#

A week later, Hiccup checked every bit of his armor and Toothless's gear. It would need to be in perfect shape for what they were planning on doing. It was time to kill the tyrant.

They headed to the volcanic lair of the monster, striking the side of the mountain with a plasma blast, cracking it open.

The Red Death was furious that something had broken the wall of her home, and she resolved to kill whatever it was. She crawled out of the pit, looking for the troublesome creature.

Toothless launched a plasma blast at the side of the Queen's head, fueling her growing anger. She breathed out a vast stream of fire, close enough that Hiccup could feel the searing heat. He looked back at the tail fin, glad to see that the fire had done nothing to it.

Toothless shot off more blasts, aiming at the wings. He climbed high above the clouds, before diving down and giving a blast so strong that it knocked the Queen off her feet.

Hiccup saw the Queen's wings begin to unfurl, wondering whether or not she could fly, but that question was soon answered when he saw the colossal dragon begin to climb into the air. He and Toothless raced into the clouds, the Red Death in pursuit. They struck her from every angle, enraging her.

The Queen saw them, and Hiccup yelled out, "Toothless, dive!"

They dove down through the clouds. Hiccup saw the Queen's mouth beginning to fill with gas. He and Toothless then turned, and shot a blast down the Queen's throat, setting the gas alight.

When the Queen was dead, Hiccup was amazed that he had remained unscathed by the fight against the monster.

#

A month later, a silent shadow flew over Berk.

Hiccup looked down upon the village and saw the devastation. He knew that the people of Berk were in trouble, and despite the pain they had caused him, he couldn't just stand by and watch them suffer.

He knew that if he was going to do anything that he needed to take out the last defenses. They swiftly destroyed the defenses Berk had left, vanishing before anyone could make a move.

#

The next morning, Stoick was working to begin repairing the damage to their defenses, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow land on a cliff at the edge of the village and saw it was a dragon.

He bellowed, "Kill that dragon!"

The village surged forward, only to stop when a slim figure slid off the dragon's back and spoke.

He said in a cold voice, "I am not here to harm you right now, but if you hurt my dragon, I will kill everyone on this island. You know what I am capable of, so I would advise you to think for once in your lives about your actions."

The people of Berk stumbled back a bit, feeling like they had just seen a demon, but that did nothing to prepare them for what it said next, "You have made a grave mistake, casting out Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the former heir to Berk. I have come to help, seeing as you will most likely die of starvation without me, but there are three conditions. First, you will not harm my dragon. Second, when I go into the woods, you will not follow me. And third, you will have to prove that you deserve my help. I will return tomorrow morning to hear your decision," then climbed back onto the dragon and took off towards the forest.

Snotlout, arrogant as always yelled, "We do not need the help of any man who rides on the back of a dragon!" Before being punched in the jaw by an irritated Astrid.

She said, "I do not like this any more than the rest of you, but the figure was right, if we do not accept his help, we will all starve to death, and that will be the end of Berk. He made it clear that he could kill us all, but he offered us help. I don't trust him, but we should at least hear him out."

Stoick sadly stated, "I do not think we have much of a choice. Whatever the figure was made it clear that he knows what we did to Hiccup, and I think that part of proving that we deserve his help will be to put aside our egos and listen to what Hiccup said before. Is there anyone who wishes to oppose me in this matter?"

The village grumbled, not liking the idea of asking for help, but not wanting to go up against Stoick.

#

The figure and the dragon returned the next morning, as promised, asking, "Have you made your decision?"

Stoick replied, "We do not have much of a choice. What do we need to do to prove ourselves worthy of your help?"

The stranger stated, "You have already made the first step, asking for help. In order to prove yourselves, you will have to release the dragons that you are holding captive, then beat me in single combat."

Stoick blanched, nervously saying, "Why would we release the dragons? They would only kill us, and return to raid us."

Calmly, the figure stated, "I know that you have not had a single dragon raid in this past month. This is because I killed their Queen. The dragons are not mindless killers, so you will release them. Hiccup knew this before he left, but he knew you wouldn't listen to him. Now, you should have enough motivation to listen to someone who does not share your views."

Stoick grudgingly replied, "Fine. We will do it. But if a single one attacks, we will have your head."

The small party trudged down to the arena, preparing to release the captive dragons.

The figure said to his dragon, "Tell the dragons in the pens that we have come to free them, and that their Queen is dead. Warn them not to attack." And the dragon relayed the message.

When the pens were opened, the dragons calmly exited, moving towards the exit before flying away. The figure stated, "That wasn't so hard, was it? I told you that they would not attack. The last thing you must do is beat me in single combat. The rules for challenges are as follows: no killing blows and only one challenger each day. Armor will be allowed, and each challenger will have their choice of weapon. Does anyone wish to be the first challenger?"

The village stood for a moment, eyeing the slim figure.

As arrogant and predictable as always, Snotlout stepped forward shouting, "This should be easy, I am the best warrior in this tribe!"

The stranger calmly replied, "I accept your challenge. Prepare yourself for combat."

An hour later, the stands surrounding the arena were packed with vikings, eager to see how this fight would turn out. Stoick stood and stated, "This match will last until one party either yields or is unable to continue. At the sound of the gong, the match will begin." And with that, the gong rang out.

#

Snotlout had chosen to use an axe in this battle. When the gong rang and the battle began, he gave a war cry, charging at the figure standing calmly in front of him. As the axe came down, Hiccup moved slightly to the side, avoiding the stroke, before turning and giving Snotlout a powerful hook to his jaw. Snotlout stumbled back with the power of the blow, and suddenly found himself staring up at the figure, a sword held to his throat.

The figure coldly asked, "Do you yield?"

Snotlout grumbled a yes, unhappy that he had been defeated in under 30 seconds.

The figure then asked, "Are there any more challengers?"

Astrid stepped up, challenging the figure, who said, "Good, we will fight in the morning."

#

The gong rang out again, and Astrid slowly circled Hiccup, before swinging her axe at the space that his head had been a fraction of a second earlier.

Before he could land a strike, she whirled out of his reach, preparing for another strike, but before she could strike, she saw his sword flash for a second, slicing the handle of her axe.

She threw the wooden handle at him, but he caught it, sending it spinning back at her, catching her in the forehead.

Moving forward, Hiccup pointed his sword at her throat, asking, "Do you yield?"

She had no choice, angrily yielding.

The next person who stepped up was Stoick himself, bellowing out his challenge.

* * *

A/N: Hiccup is still going to lose his leg, this is just not the time for that...


End file.
